Secondhand Wisdom: Politically Speaking

Good post over on Thrift Store Confidential about the proposed Michigan bill to require foster children who receive state funds to buy all their clothes at secondhand stores. I've been trying to articulate how I feel about this for a while, but this does a much better job than I've done. More.

And while I'm in the political sphere, here is a nifty game that explores the difficulties of losing one's job in this market. More.

What do you think of the proposed Michigan bill?

By the Book

This weekend was a special edition of the San Francisco Public Library's Friends of the Library book sale. Usually they do a sale in the Fall, but this Spring marks their 50th Anniversary, so a special sale was had. 


The tactile sensation of running a hand across dozens of books while looking for ones that pique my interest is a nice Sunday all by itself. Still, the key part of Sundays at the Friends of the Library book sales is that it's $1 day. 


Excuse me while I say, "Woohoo!" 


Now then, where were we? Growing up, my mom's rule on garage sale/thrift store/antique mall books was anything that was $1 or under. We went to the library not infrequently and $1 books were not uncommon, so I was hardly book-deprived under this rule.


So Sunday I spent $21 to get 21 books: 

We will be hours of fun!

Only two of them were books I'd previously read. Of those, one was Pride and Prejudice, which I still can't believe wasn't on my shelf until today. I made my dear boyfriend (who also alphabetized my bookshelf this weekend!) confirm and reconfirm my astounding discovery that it was missing from the Austen books. So I think that was a good addition to the library. 

All in all, a nice day. 

Saturday was a smaller haul, which is probably good for my space issues anyway (still trying to figure out where I'm going to put the things I brought home from Missouri). 

I am sparkly!

This cute little sterling necklace with a yellow jeweled bead is definitely an unusual one. I'm not quite sure what to wear it with yet. Would black make it to bumblebee-y?


Though books were my first thrift store love, jewelry is quickly coming up to replace them, so this was a nice weekend of thrift thrills. Not quite ready for it to end though.


This post is a part of Apron Thrift Girl's Thrift Share Mondays! Head on over there to check her out and to see all of the fun stuff thrifters got this weekend. 

What are your favorite things to nab at thrift stores? 

Fabulous and Favorite Finds: How I Became Stupid

I have just been home in Missouri for about a week, which, combined with my terminal laziness, will explain the absence of posts. My parents are antique dealers, and my sister is a talented young artist, so I can proudly say that I got quite a haul for next to nothing, unless you're going to count airfare. 


I will soon regale you with stories about "playing jewelry" in my parents' hidden cache of stuff and giggling over our embarrassment of art riches, I promise.* However, I'm always more than faintly sad after leaving home, and this particular time is the first time I've been back to Missouri in the Spring in 5 years (!), so it felt a little like leaving for the first time all over again. 


With that in mind, I was thinking about some of my favorite things to cheer me up, which led me to thinking about some of my favorite thrifted things. Not just the things that saved me money or made me look awesome, but things that were somehow important in my life, like How I Became Stupid. 

"Don't I look clever and headless?"

I found this book on the shelf at the Daly City Goodwill. It was sitting there, flaunting its sassy orange and black spine, proudly calling out the fact that it is a Penguin Book. I'm a sucker for satin or flat finishes on paperbacks, and this is a rough flat finish that had already picked up a casual coating of grime in its wrinkles. And then there's that title. 

It's a quirky (and invitingly slim) story about Antoine, a Paris academic who is desperate to become stupid because he believes he'll be happier that way. He tries everything he can dream or do, from alcoholism to playing the stock market. In the end, it is a clear-eyed novel with a sense of hope that is somewhat sneaky, but nevertheless intriguing. 


At this point, I have no idea what I paid for it, but likely $2.19. I've since picked up at least 3 more copies (there are 2 living on the bookshelf in the living room right now). And at most recent count, I've bullied 4 people into reading it. 


I'm not certain what it is that appeals to me so much, and I'm equally uncertain that anyone I've forced to read it feels the same way I do. Still, I feel about it the way I feel about songs that are fun to listen to, but don't necessarily suit my philosophies: It's nice to get to live for a little bit in a world I don't want to inhabit permanently. But in this case, Antoine goes ahead and lives out his own disturbed fantasy rather than just, in a completely hypothetical example, listening to a latter-day Fall Out Boy song. 


I also really love the end. And in a world of books that make me say, "It was ok, but I didn't like how it ended," that is something interesting and special indeed. 






*I also do not fail to recognize that I am 2 posts into a proposed 3 part series, which I will soon bring to a breathtaking close.**


**Breathtaking might be a bit generous. 




So, what are some of your important or favorite thrift store finds?

Thrift Store Finds – Trying to be Brave

So I have a definite type of things I like. They are usually black or grey. Usually plain, not patterned. I try for tops that are longer and skinny jeans. 


But . . . a little while ago, I saw this: 

I am a cute vest!

While it is black, it's also patterned and it is a little shorter on me. And it's a vest. This is an article of clothing I've not had in my wardrobe since the 90s! Remember this? 

Still, I thought there must be a way I could wear it. I bought it for $4.49 and worked to figure it out. Here's what I came up with: 

Together with an Express pencil skirt (via Goodwill), a green shirt from Target and my beloved boots. 

I like it, though I think I will have to pace myself wearing it. It is a fairly memorable outfit. 

Are there any pieces you have been a little scared to try that ultimately worked? 

Clothing Swap Numbers

I promised to post a tally of the number of hours of resume preparation that our swap helped generate. So here is a quick recap:


After everyone picked out the things they wanted we had: 

• Shirts - 14
• Coats/Jackets - 13 (I am not the only one with too many jackets I see)
• Dresses - 3
• Jeans/Pants - 7
• Shoes (pairs, not individuals) - 5
• Suits - 1
• Skirts - 8 
• Sweaters - 7 
• Purses - 6
• As well as an assortment of other accessories, which included belts, jewelry, scarves, etc.

This isn't even everything!

That added up to a total of 10.8 hours of resume preparation through Goodwill (according to their donation impact calculator). 

We will also contribute to the 2.4 billion pounds of usable goods that Goodwill has diverted from land fills since January 1, 2010. 

Yay us!

So You Cleaned Out Your Closet, Now What? Pt. 1

So if all went as planned, you cleaned out your closet last week. Huzzah!

Some of the remaining items from my clothing swap

But now what? 


Obviously, you can donate your clothing to a number of great places like Goodwill, Salvation Army and others. I'm definitely in favor of completing the circle of thrift store love by sending your fantastically cute clothes (which for whatever reason no longer work for you) back from whence they came. 


There is another option, however, which can practically double your fun: a clothing swap. Because your friends' clothes are super cute too! 


This weekend, I hosted a clothing swap, and I wanted to share some tips. 


How to Host a Clothing Swap:

• Decide beforehand how you want to handle leftover items that no one wants. I usually decide to bring them to Goodwill myself, but if that's not practical, just know what your plan is. 
• Invite people. This is pretty key. If you have the space for it, encourage people you invite to invite people. The more the merrier.
• To help anyone not familiar with the concept, include some basic rules in your invitation. For this weekend's clothing swap, I included this set of instructions:
• Sort through your clothes
•  Pick clothes that you don't want anymore
•  Bring them to the clothing swap, and we will swap clothes. 
• Tres simple! 
• Set some basic guidelines. I tend to prefer more people so I tend for inclusive guidelines. Some questions to ask yourself: 
• Does everyone have to bring clothes to swap? I say, no, but you may disagree. Typically, I find there are lots of clothes left over at the end. If people don't have clothes to swap, maybe they can bring snacks or drinks, which makes it easier on the lovely hostess (that's you). 
• What if some of the clothes are damaged? If you have lots of friends and guests who are crafty, you might set the bar low here. For example, I am looking for T-shirts to cut up to crochet a rug. So I don't much care if there are stains or small holes. 
• Before guests arrive, try to sort your items into some basic categories: shirts, skirts and dresses, pants, jackets, accessories. 
• Pro tip here: Don't worry about sizes! I made this mistake once and tried to sort things out by size. You will be amazed at the ability of different items to look great on different sizes and body types. Anyone who suggests sorting by size should be sniffed at, like so, hmmph!
• Set out some snacks and you're ready to go! 

You'll find some great stuff and get to share your finds with friends. 

Some of my finds, no surprise
they're all black and grey

Next up, how to sell or donate your castoffs and/or clothing swap leftovers. 


I'll also use Goodwill's nifty impact calculator to let you all know how many hours of resume preparation our clothing swap generated. I'm excited to get the tally! 


Do you have any great finds from swapping with friends? 

And that's why you always try things on!

Remember when I said, "Try it on – No buts"? Well, this is why. 
It started with the Goodwill Presidents' Day Sale. I bought two pairs of jeans. A wide leg black Paige Premium Denim and a wide leg Earnest Sewn. 

They looked so cute. They were my size. They were different than the skinny jeans I normally wear. They were designer jeans. They were $3. 

Sadly, not actually my size. Just a little too tight. 


To be fair to me, I couldn't try these on. During sales, Goodwills often close the dressing room. So I knew I was taking a chance. 


But . . . then I bought a Liz Claiborne skirt. Which I thought would come to just above my knees. Not so much. It's about mid-calf, with a cute little slit in the back. Which would indicate that it should come to a little above the knee and that the woman who was intended to wear this was incredibly tall. 


Later, I bought a Mossimo black dress. And the sales woman said, "Did you try everything on?" 


To which I replied, "I think it will be fine."


Clearly, I'm out of control and will have to be watched more carefully in the future. 


So these pieces will go on the clothing swap tomorrow. If no one takes them, they'll go in a pile to be sold at a resale shop. More on both of those later. 


P.S. As the Bluths know, you also always leave a note. 


What items do you tend to not try on?